Fast Track: Ohio Gets It. But Will Clinton?

One state that gets it about “NAFTA-style” trade deals is Ohio. Factory after factory has closed, shipping jobs offshore, and leaving communities devastated. Now Fast Track and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are coming for the rest of the jobs, and Ohio is fighting back. Will Hillary Clinton join the fight?

Imagine you and your spouse going into your bank to settle on the purchase of a home. When you sit down with the loan officer, you are informed that the interest rate for the loan, the payoff period of the loan, the down payment for the loan, the terms of the loan and all the details about other aspects of purchasing the house have been negotiated in advance by the bank and the real estate agent. You can either sign on the line or walk away, but no changes are permitted.

Even more daunting, you know that the banks and realty companies have a long track record of negotiating such deals, which have performed marvelously well for those institutions, but have been horrible for the customers.

Although this scenario seems almost unfathomable for anyone who has ever ventured into the housing market, this is exactly the type of scenario President Barack Obama is requesting when he asks Congress to renew Trade Promotion Authority — also known as “fast track.”

Spoiler alert! Logan ends with this:

I seriously doubt any of you would buy a home or sign a long-term deal with a blindfold on, and neither should Congress. It’s time to say no to fast track and yes to smart trade that is truly in our national interest.

Ohio Politicians Get It (Except a few)

Ohio has suffered more than many states from the trade deals moving factories and jobs out of the country. So Ohio politics are just full of Fast Track and TPP. A smattering of recent articles demonstrates this:

In Ohio’s 2016 Senate race former Governor Ted Strickland is using the trade issue to pound his opponent, former U.S. Trade Ambassador and current Senator Rob Portman. Strickland’s website offers a “Stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership” petition. Strikland says, “In the past 20 years, NAFTA has devastated Ohio’s economy with hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. The TPP will only do more harm. We can’t let greedy foreign companies and special interests continue to rob the future of Ohio’s working families.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — and the rigged “Fast Track” process designed to pass it before the public has a chance to react — has become a new “third rail” for progressives and the activist Democratic “base.” (This is also true on the right, by the way.)

This game-rigging is creating a race to the bottom for people and the planet. The thing is: more and more people are seeing it. And more and more people are asking Hillary Clinton to lead the fight against it.

Mrs. Clinton, it’s time to step up, take a stand and lead the fight against Fast Track and the TPP. Get it?

About Dave Johnson

Dave has more than 20 years of technology industry experience. His earlier career included technical positions, including video game design at Atari and Imagic. He was a pioneer in design and development of productivity and educational applications of personal computers. More recently he helped co-found a company developing desktop systems to validate carbon trading in the US.